figureskatingfandomcom-20200216-history
Mirai Nagasu
Mirai Aileen Nagasu (born April 16, 1993) is an American figure skater. She is the 2008 U.S. National Champion and the 2007-2008 Junior Grand Prix Final Champion. Nagasu won the silver medal at the 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. In 2008, Nagasu became the youngest lady since Tara Lipinski in 1997 to win the U.S. senior ladies title, and the second youngest in history. She is the first lady since Joan Tozzer in 1937 and 1938 to win the junior and senior national titles in consecutive years. Personal life Nagasu was born in Montebello, Los Angeles County, California and raised in Arcadia, California. Nagasu's parents are immigrants from Japan and Nagasu is Japan. Her name Mirai is a Japanese word meaning "future." Her name may be represented in Japanese using the Kanji 長洲未来 or using the Kana ナガス・ミライ. Both representations have been used by the Japanese press. These representations are of "Nagasu Mirai," which is the name order used for Japanese names. These representations are not of "Nagasu Mirai Aileen," and so are not representations of her full name. Her parents own a sushi restaurant in Arcadia. Nagasu was a recipient of a Michael Weiss (figure skater) scholarship, which is a scholarship program for young American figure skaters. In the summer of 2007, Nagasu performed in ice shows in Japan. In the fall of 2007, after winning both her two Junior Grand Prix events, Nagasu took part in the International Counter Match "made for television" event in Japan. There, Nagasu was part of team USA and competed against team Japan. In the promotion and news coverage of the event, Nagasu's presence and participation was given nearly as much coverage as Ando's and Asada's. Even as far into her career as October 2007, after Nagasu had already qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final for the United States, the Japanese media still speculated about her possible choice to switch to skating for Japan. Career Early career Nagasu began skating at age five. In the 2002-2003 season, Nagasu competed on the Juvenile level. She placed 5th at the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships In the 2003-2004 season, she moved up to the Intemediate level. She placed 4th at the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships. She competed at the 2004 U.S. Junior Championships, the national-level championships for Juvenile and Intermediate skaters. She placed 8th in her qualifying group and did not advance to the short program. In the 2004-2005 season, she remained on the Intermediate level. She won the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships. At the 2005 U.S. Junior Championships, she placed 11th in her qualifying group and did not advance to the short program. She moved up to the Novice level for the 2005-2006 season. Novice is the lowest level that competes at the United States Figure Skating Championships. Skaters qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships by placing in the top four at regionals and then going on to place in the top four at Sectionals. At the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships, the first step to qualifying for Nationals, Nagasu placed 3rd in the short program, fifth in the free skate, and placed fifth overall. She did not advance to Sectionals. Junior career In the 2006-2007 season, Nagasu moved up to the Junior level. She won the Southwest Pacific Regional Championships with a score of 151.77, 20.91 points ahead of silver medalist Laney Diggs. She advanced to the Pacific Coast Sectional Championships, which she won with a score of 135.04, 5.74 points ahead of silver medalist Victoria Rackohn. This win at Sectionals qualified her for the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The 2007 Championships were was her first time competing at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and was only her second national-level competition. At the 2007 U.S. Championships, Nagasu won the short program with a score of 54.26, which was 0.39 points ahead of second place finisher Caroline Zhang. Nagasu won the free skate with a score of 101.20, 3.19 points ahead of Zhang. She won the title with a combined score of 155.46. Nagasu beat heavy favorite Caroline Zhang, who had come into the event as the reigning Junior Grand Prix Final champion. Nagasu went on to the 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She did not have an ISU Personal Best on record, so she skated in the first half of the ladies short program. She was ranked second after the short program by 1.95 points behind Caroline Zhang. She placed second in the free skate by 3.46 points behind Zhang. She won the silver medal, placing 5.41 points behind champion Zhang and 6.69 points ahead of bronze medalist Ashley Wagner. Zhang, Nagasu, and Wagner completed the first ever sweep by the United States of the World Junior ladies podium. For the 2007-2008 season, Nagasu moved up to the Senior level nationally, but remained Junior internationally. At the 2007-2008 Junior Grand Prix Final Champion event in Lake Placid, New York, her first Junior Grand Prix competition of her career, she won both the short and free programs to win the gold medal with a 26.47 point lead over silver medalist Alexe Gilles. She went on to her second event, the Junior Grand Prix event in Zagreb, Croatia. She won both the short and free programs to win the event with a 11.08 point lead over silver medalist Jenni Vähämaa. These two wins qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final. At the 2007-2008 Junior Grand Prix Final in Gdansk, Poland, Nagasu won the short program with a score of 59.35, 4.72 points ahead of second-place finisher Yuki Nishino. In the free skate, Nagasu placed second by 4.81 points behind Rachael Flatt. Nagasu won the title overall by 2.43 points ahead of silver medalist Flatt and was 12.67 points ahead of bronze medalist Nishino. Senior career At the 2008 United States Figure Skating Championships, Nagasu won the short program with a score of 70.23, 5.08 points ahead of second place finisher Ashley Wagner. Nagasu also landed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination for the first time in competition. In the free skate, Nagasu placed third with a score of 120.18, 5.64 points behind first place finisher Rachael Flatt and 3.23 points behind second place finisher Wagner. She won the title overall with a score of 190.41, 1.68 ahead of silver medalist Flatt. By winning the U.S. Championships, Nagasu became the first skater to win the junior and senior National titles back to back in the ladies division since Joan Tozzer in 1937 and 1938. She also became the second-youngest American senior ladies champion in history, after Tara Lipinski. As the U.S. National Champion, Nagasu would have under normal conditions been sent to the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. However, Nagasu was not old enough by International Skating Union rules to compete at that competition, and so she was assigned to the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Of the four medalists at the the 2008 U.S. Championships, only Ashley Wagner was old enough to go to the World Championships Coaching changes Mirai Nagasu was coached by Sandy Gollihugh for some of her early career. She made a coaching change to Charlene Wong in October 2006. Wong was her primary coach for 3 years. Nagasu's secondary coaches included Sashi Kuchiki, Sondra Holmes, Bob Paul, and Jim Yorke, who she worked with about once a week to focus on different areas of her skating. In 2009, Nagasu switched coaches to work with Frank Carroll. Programs Competitive highlights * N = Novice level; J = Junior level Detailed results 2008-2009 season * SP: Short Program, FS: Free Skating 2007-2008 season 2006-2007 season 2005-2006 season * QR = Qualifying Round, SP: Short Program, FS: Free Skating References External links * Official site Category:American figure skaters